Yao Ming's wines are winners, too

Yao's new team is one of wine people. His cabs have been sold in China for two years and are set to enter the U.S. market.

Photo By Yao Ming Wines

Yao Ming's name graces the labels of two Napa Valley cabernets.

Yao Ming's basketball career may have ended with chronic foot problems, but the former Houston Rocket arguably made the sport relevant to more people than anyone in history. Though basketball was certainly known to the Chinese, Yao took hoops mainstream in the world's most populous country after the Rockets chose him first overall in the 2002 NBA draft.

Now that Yao has become a vintner, with his famous name gracing the elegant labels of two Napa Valley cabernets, you wonder if he'll have the same impact on wine in China, where the market is exploding as we speak. But, truth to tell, that seems unlikely. Wine is a finite product, and Yao Family Wines, with total production less than 2,500 cases, is as boutique an operation as you'll find. But Yao and his new "team" should certainly get the attention of well-heeled collectors, the kind of folks with deep pockets and vast personal cellars who put the "cult" in cult cabs.

On a recent trip to California I had an opportunity to sit down with Yao's winemaker, the well-regarded Thomas Hinde, to taste both wines from the inaugural 2009 vintage. They have been available in China for two years and are about to enter the U.S. market. The good news: They're exceptional, especially for a debut effort. The bad news: They're really expensive: $170 for Yao Ming and $625 for the Yao Ming Family Reserve, of which only 325 cases were made.

In short, if you could afford season tickets near the court to watch Yao play ball, you can also afford to be a fan of his wines.

And value is relative, to be sure. That's downright cheap compared to the 2009 Screaming Eagle (online starting at $1,495) or the 2009 Chateau Petrus (from $2,500). Though I haven't had the pleasure of tasting either, I suspect Yao's Reserve would hold its own against either in a blind tasting. The regular cab might, too.

To borrow one of Robert Parker's favorite terms, this is hedonistic juice. The bright, super-ripe fruit and new French oak smack you right in the kisser. Hinde, however, didn't go crazy like some do with big Napa cabs. The alcohol levels are a near-classic 14.2 percent for the cab and a modestly reigned-in 14.8 for the fancy stuff. The wines, made from meticulously selected grapes grown on Sugarloaf Mountain, Atlas Peak and the cool, low-lying Tourmaline Vineyard near San Pablo Bay, are balanced and should have aging potential. Time will tell.

They're also 100 percent true to the taste of the big man whose moniker they wear. Yao didn't just sell his brand. He threw himself into the project head first and, Hinde said, "We made the kind of wine he liked to drink when he visited (Napa)."

Yao first embraced the grape through his friendship with Rockets teammate Dikembe Mutumbo, who grew up in central Africa and became an oenophile early in his NBA career. When they went to dinner, Mutumbo could be counted on to order a bottle or two.

Because of Yao's strong Houston ties - his parents still live here and he frequently visits - we can expect to receive a commensurate share of the wine, although probably not in retail. The Landry's group is a major customer, so those steakhouses (Vic & Anthony's and Morton's) are certain to feature it on their lists, as will Yao's own spot at 9755 Westheimer.

"I was fortunate to play for the Houston Rockets and still call the city my second home," Yao said via email from China. "It has brought me so much joy and I am happy I can share something personal with people from a place that means so much to me."